THE LATEST WAY OF WADE
After doing the Way Of Wade 4 review, I immediately took the new WOW 5’s for a test. So here’s a Li-Ning Way Of Wade 5 review!
I’ll talk about the shoe’s tech specs, performance, comfort, materials and decide it it’s worth the price. Let’s start the Li-Ning Way of Wade 5 review!
THE TECH
EVA – I seriously did not know what to f**king put in here. Since there’s literally no info about the shoe’s detailed tech specs and I obviously didn’t want to rip it open, I assume this kind of sh**ty cushion should be EVA foam. Yeah, more on that later.
PERFORMANCE
FIT/COMFORT
So the shoes are at least comfortable, to begin with. They’re true to size, these do need some break-in time because of the rigid materials, but other than, I didn’t have any issues with the comfort or overall fit aspect.
CUSHION
Okay, now for the cushion. So there are two main branches in terms of cushion types: responsive and bouncy. Of course, there are some really well-balanced and rounded out ones too, but this just plain sucks.
I mean, I couldn’t feel anything in terms of bounce or impact protection. They weren’t that responsive too – they’re actually similar to the Kyrie 2’s cushion. Which is f**king concrete.
TRACTION
Traction looks durable judging by the rubber compound, but it doesn’t perform that well. I could live with it (slipping here and there), but the pattern clogs up dust super quickly.
You wouldn’t slide if you really tried but that’s not how a shoe should perform. I was constantly thinking about the shoe’s grip while playing which isn’t a good thing at all. I don’t know if they would do the same outdoors, but like I said, at least they’re durable.
SUPPORT
Support was solid though. The upper is very sturdy with layers for extra protection and lockdown. Containment was fine, I didn’t slip out of the footbed (and I couldn’t because of the limiting traction).
There’s a TPU heel counter for heel lockdown, a wide base overall and the fit is proper, so that combines into solid support. Most smaller players/play styles could wear these.
MATERIALS
The upper is mesh with synthetic overlays and some rigid plasticy constructions on top. Not a premium setup at all, but it does the job. It’s comfortable, supportive and durable.
FINAL VERDICT
So the WOW 5 could be considered a downgrade. And that’s too bad since the WOW 4 was not that bad and I had solid expectations for this one.
They’re comfortable, but they have crappy cushion and traction, support along with the upper was fine though.
I honestly don’t see a reason to get them apart from if you’re a Wade fan. Or if you really want a WOW shoe to try out, check out the 4th one.
PROS
+ Comfortable, a proper one-to-one fit
+ Solid support in all areas
+ Durable, would be solid for outdoor play
CONS
– Cushion is garbage in every way
– Traction is crappy too
– 160 bucks for a poor shoe, that’s not a good deal
RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVE
ADIDAS CRAZYLIGHT BOOST 2016 LOW
You want a little bit of everything at a MUCH lower price? Go with these.
Full-length BOOST. SprintPlate. Continental Rubber. A jacquard upper. Everything at $120.
That’s it for the review!